SANTA CRUZ - Prosecutors will not be seeking the death penalty in the case of four men accused in the homicide of a 14-year-old Watsonville boy.

Assistant District Attorney Steve Moore made the announcement in court Friday. That means the maximum penalty the defendants could receive, if convicted, would be life without the possibility of parole.

David Moreno Sanchez, 19, and Alexis Alejandro Rodriguez, 18, are charged with murder and participating in a gang for the Dec. 10 shooting death of Jesse Lopez. Juan Soto Gonzalez, 22, and Carlos Valencia, 20, are charged with being accessories to the crime.

The four men were back in court Friday to clarify a conflict of interest issue with one of the defense attorneys. Gonzalez now will be represented by Santa Cruz defense attorney Shaneen Porter. They're due back in court on Jan. 18 to set a date for a preliminary hearing, which is held to determine whether there's sufficient evidence to take a case to trial.

Lopez, a Watsonville High School freshman, was killed after a quinceañera, according to authorities. He and a 14-year-old friend accepted a ride from an acquaintance to socialize at a turnout on the 400 block of Hecker Pass Road outside Watsonville, sheriff's Lt. Fred Plageman has said. Another car showed up at the turnout and an occupant fired at the two 14-year-olds. Lopez was killed but his friend survived.

Santa Cruz police arrested the four suspects later on Dec. 10 after they were accused of throwing gang signs outside a convenience store at Laurel and Chestnut streets. They also arrested a fifth man, Uriel Ortiz, who was with the group at the convenience store. Ortiz, 18, is charged with disturbing the peace. He's also charged with battery stemming from a fight in County Jail. He is not charged in connection with the fatal shooting.

All five defendants entered pleas of not guilty in court last month. Rodriguez and Sanchez are being held without bail, while the other three men remain in custody. Valencia is being held on $125,000 bail, Gonzalez on $200,000 and Ortiz on $50,000.

2011 SANTA CRUZ COUNTY HOMICIDES

Jan. 2: Jose Alfredo Coronel, 32, was stabbed to death near the corner of Pennsylvania and Hammer drives in Watsonville across the street from his apartment. Police said Coronel had been at home with his sister and a friend when they went to get snacks at a store. When they returned, Coronel was stabbed several times in the chest and lay on the sidewalk. Police said the slaying was gang-motivated, and Coronel had dropped out of a gang. The murder weapon, most likely a knife, has not been found and no one has been arrested.

April 26: Heather Marie Stearns, 30, was found dead in an upstairs apartment on the 100 block of East Cliff Drive. Santa Cruz police said she had been deceased for at least a week while its tenant - 63-year-old parolee John Clauer - had been living there. Police held Clauer for questioning that night and he is now in an Alameda County jail on a parole hold. The Santa Cruz County District Attorney's Office recently issued a Ramey warrant for Clauer to bring him back to the county when his out-of-county matters are adjudicated. Clauer has been charged.

April 10: Isaac Ramirez, 20, was shot outside an apartment complex on the 200 block of Clifford Drive during a teen's birthday party, police reported. Ramirez was a known gang member, and he was treated for gunshot wounds at Watsonville Community Hospital before he died, authorities said. No one has been arrested in the shooting.

June 7: Robin Miranda, 22, was shot and killed by Watsonville police after he refused to drop a shotgun that he had stolen from Big 5 Sporting Goods on Green Valley Road in Watsonville, police said. Miranda, of Watsonville, had filled out paperwork to buy a rifle and was told he had to wait to buy it, police said. Miranda left and returned to the store minutes later with an electric saw, which he used to cut off a wall lock, take the shotgun and load it, police said. He fired at least one shot in the store as a store employee called 911. Miranda's death certificate listed homicide as his cause of death. Miranda's family said he struggled with paranoia and other mental health issues.

July 7: Stephen Hull, 62, and Aaron Hull, 36, were found shot to death in an apparent murder-suicide at a home on the 100 block of Lawrence Avenue in Watsonville. Police were called to the house for a domestic disturbance, and Aaron Hull fired shots at a sergeant after they talked at the house. The sergeant saw a man dead in the house during their conversation, and a SWAT team tried to contact Aaron Hull during a seven-hour standoff. Police entered the house about 12:40 a.m. and found the two men dead from gunshot wounds. Aaron apparently shot himself, police said.

July 9: Luis Duran, 19, of Soquel, was shot and killed just after midnight as he left a party at a house on the 200 block of Manfre Road near the Watsonville Municipal Airport. An 18-year-old woman, unidentified, was shot in the shoulder, then treated and released at the hospital. They were among between 50 and 75 guests at an 18th birthday party which was attended by gang members. Investigators say she wasn't a gang member, but they're not sure about him. They say he was stabbed about a month earlier and it appears he had gang ties.

July 16: Jose Ventura, 22, of Pajaro, was shot and killed about 11:40 p.m. on the 600 block of Rodriguez Street while walking home. A man got out of a dark sedan. It is unclear if he and Ventura spoke, police said. Ventura was shot twice with a shotgun, police said. He was taken to a hospital where he died.

July 23: A 18-year-old Prunedale field worker, Gustavo Diaz Zaragoza, was gunned down in the Target parking lot on Main Street about 6:15 p.m. Saturday. Police said he and a man who drove a Honda Accord exchanged looks prior to the shooting.

Dec. 10: A 14-year-old Watsonville boy, Jesse Lopez, was shot at a turnout on the 400 block of Hecker Pass Road outside Watsonville, according to the Sheriff's Office. Lopez died at Watsonville Community Hospital. Authorities have arrested David Moreno Sanchez, 19, of Los Banos, and Alexis Alejandro Rodriguez, 18, of Royal Oaks, on suspicion of homicide, attempted homicide and gang participation. Juan Soto Gonzalez, 22, of Santa Cruz and Carlos Valencia, 20, of Watsonville were arrested on suspicion of accessory and gang participation.

Dec. 11: Ronald 'Aaron' Carpenter, 36, of Mid-County was stabbed to death at a house on the 3200 block of Virgil Lane in Capitola. 23-year-old Marcos Robert Chavez, who rented a studio from the couple who own the house, was arrested for murder.

DEC. 23: Kathryn Wiens, 88, was shot to death by her husband, 90-year-old Ray Wiens, who then shot himself to death on the 100 block of Sims Road, according to the Sheriff's Office. Kathryn Wiens was transported to a San Jose hospital and died the next day, said Sgt. Mark Yanez. The couple had declining health and that appeared to be a motive in the murder-suicide, Yanez said. A handgun was found in the in the home, authorities said.